Friday’s Talking Points – February 26, 2016

Good Friday morning from Salt Lake City. Today is the 57th day of the year. There are 309 days left in 2016.

GOP presidential candidates engage in a raucous debate ahead of Super Tuesday. Vice President Biden visits Salt Lake City on Friday. Paul Ryan is heading to Utah to raise money for Mia Love.

The clock:

  • The South Carolina Democratic Primary is tomorrow (2/27/2016)
  • Four days to the “Super Tuesday” primaries and caucuses (3/2/2016)
  • 13 days to the final day of the 2016 Utah Legislature – (3/10/2016)
  • 24 days to the GOP presidential debate in Salt Lake City – (3/21/2016)
  • 25 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic caucus meetings (3/22/2016)
  • 33 days to the last day the governor may sign or veto bills (3/30/2016)
  • 57 days to the Utah Republican and Democratic State Conventions (4/23/2016)
  • 73 days to the last day a veto override session may begin (5/9/2016)
  • 123 days to the 2016 Utah primary election – (6/28/2016)
  • 143 days to the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland (7/18/2016)
  • 150 days to the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia (7/25/2016)
  • 256 days until the 2016 presidential election – (11/8/2016)

Ten talking points for Friday:

  1. The 10,000th GOP debate, and final one before “Super Tuesday,” turned into a slap fight between Donald Trump, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz [Politico, New York Times, Washington Post].
  2. Vice President Joe Biden visits Salt Lake City Friday to talk about efforts to cure cancer [Tribune, Deseret News].
  3. House Speaker Paul Ryan is coming to Utah on Monday to raise money for Rep. Mia Love [Utah Policy].
  4. A new survey finds Utahns are split on whether the state should spend $14 million on a legal fight to take control of public lands in Utah [Utah Policy].
  5. The Utah Senate passes Sen. Mark Madsen‘s medical marijuana bill. The measure now moves to the House [2 News, Fox 13Deseret News, Tribune].
  6. Rep. Curt Oda introduces legislation that would ban most common forms of abortion in Utah [Utah Policy, Tribune, Deseret News, Fox 13].
  7. Sen. Gene Davis and Rep. Lynn Hemingway are taking some heat for praising the nation of Azerbaijan in the Legislature after taking a paid trip to the country [Tribune].
  8. Lawmakers again delay action on Rep. Rebecca Chavez Houck‘s “right to die” legislation [2 News, Fox 13, Tribune, Deseret News].
  9. Sen. Mike Lee turns in his list of signatures to secure a place on Utah’s primary ballot [Utah Policy, Tribune].
  10. President Barack Obama meets with Sen. Orrin Hatch to discuss the vacancy on the Supreme Court [Utah Policy, Tribune].

On this day in history:

  • 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte and 1,200 men left exile on the Isle of Elba to start his 100-day campaign to regain France.
  • 1929 – Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park was established following the signing of an executive order by President Calvin Coolidge.
  • 1970 – National Public Radio was founded.
  • 1987 – The Tower Commission issued its report on the Iran-Contra affair, rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
  • 1993 – A powerful bomb exploded in the parking garage below the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000.
  • 2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot to death in Sanford, Fla., during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he’d acted in self-defense.